Decision at CBD COP 11 cites major role for IUCN GPAP and WCPA in moving protected areas agenda forward

01 November 2012 | News story

Recognizing the valuable role the IUCN Global Protected Areas Programme and IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas play in biodiversity conservation, the recent Decision on Protected Areas at COP 11 in Hyderabad, India specifically invites IUCN, GPAP and WCPA to continue our work on new and ongoing initiatives to help achieve Target 11 of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and support national action plans for its Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA).

The Decision was supported by the engaged involvement of GPAP and WCPA in COP 11, through working with Parties, through side events and a well-attended Protected Areas Day held at the Rio Pavilion which covered the theme of protected areas as natural solutions to meeting global biodiversity targets and adapting to climate change. The full unedited text of the Decision can be found at Page 147 of the following document. http://www.cbd.int/cop/cop-11/doc/2012-10-24-advanced-unedited-cop-11-decisions-en.pdf

In particular, the Parties welcome the upcoming 2014 World Parks Congress to be organized in Sydney, Australia by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. IUCN, IUCN’s Global Programme and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas are then singled out for specific responsibilities that are closely aligned with IUCN’s Quadrennial Programme for 2013-2016 and beyond.

The Protected Areas Decision makes direct reference to IUCN and UNEP-WCMC through recognition of the Protected Planet Report, where IUCN, the WCPA and Protected Planet partners are invited to mark progress on Aichi Target 11 through the publication of the report every two years.

The decision also invites GPAP, WCPA, the World Heritage Convention and our partners to foster regional cooperation partnerships and implementation strategies to support national action plans for PoWPA through capacity development, best practices, working with regional technical support networks and promoting development of better enabling environments, and to help achieve the full scope of Target 11.

“The prominence of GPAP and the WCPA in the draft decision indicates we are building strong partnerships and the CBD is relying on our initiatives to move the protected areas agenda forward,” says Trevor Sandwith, GPAP Director. “This legitimacy will further enhance our work on Protected Planet, the IUCN World Parks Congress, and a host of important protected area challenges such as capacity development, quality measurement, governance and providing solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss. We will continue to strengthen this global partnership with the CBD and our partners to play an integral role in the PoWPA and achieving the Aichi Targets, particularly Target 11.”